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10 July 2006 : Column 1529W—continued
Mr. Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations she has made to the Sudanese Government on implementation of the February 2006 Tripoli Agreement. [80035]
Margaret Beckett: My officials in Sudan have frequently discussed the tensions along the border with Chad with the Government of Sudan. We have also raised this in Tripoli with the Libyan Government. We have been urging all parties to reduce tensions along the border between Sudan and Chad and to seek to settle their differences through peaceful means. The EU issued a statement on 13 February welcoming the Tripoli Agreement and appealing to both parties to honour the agreement, in particular their commitment to refrain from hosting rebel forces of the other party on their respective territories. The full text of the statement can be found on the following website: http://www.consiliuni.europa.eu/ue.Docs/cms_Data/docs/pressData/enycfsp/88391.pdf.
Mr. Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of the Sudanese Government's progress in fulfilling their commitments to disarm the Janjaweed militias in Sudan; and if she will make a statement. [81740]
Margaret Beckett: On Friday 23 June, the Government of Sudan publicly began disarming a small group of Janjaweed in South Darfur. We welcome this step, and call on the Government to continue this work and to present a plan for neutralising and disarming all the Janjaweed/armed militias, which they are required to do under the Darfur Peace Agreement.
Mr. Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions she has had with her NATO counterparts regarding NATO's potential involvement in peacekeeping in Darfur; and if she will make a statement. [81741]
Margaret Beckett: I have not discussed with my NATO counterparts NATO's potential involvement in peacekeeping in Darfur. NATO is providing assistance with strategic airlift, training and capacity building in support of the African Union's (AU) Mission in Darfur. Following a request from the AU it is considering further possible assistance in the areas of capacity building and training. It is not considering a peacekeeping role in Darfur.
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of the Janjaweed militia operating in Eastern Chad; and what implications such activity has for British policy towards the Sudanese Government. [82813]
Mr. McCartney:
There are indications that some Janjaweed/Arab militia groups are now operating in the border area inside Eastern Chad, while others continue to mount attacks from inside Darfur. We are concerned for the safety and security of the estimated 50,000 Chadians displaced as a result of attacks and violence in the east of the country, and for the 200,000 refugees from Darilir now sheltering in camps in Eastern Chad. The UK provided £5 million to the humanitarian
response in Chad last year and is providing an additional £4 million this year. We continue to monitor the situation closely.
We are pressing the Government of Sudan to disarm the Janjaweed in accordance with their international obligations as set out in UN Security Council Resolution 1556 and the Darfur Peace Agreement.
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what measures are being taken to ensure that all parties with claims in the Sudanese North-South and Darfur disputes are part of the relevant conflict resolution negotiations. [82814]
Mr. McCartney: We support a fully inclusive North-South political process. We support the South-South Dialogue established by the Comprehensive Peace Agreement.
The Darfur Peace Agreement, signed on 5 May 2006, and the Declaration of Principles, agreed on 5 July 2005, state that there will be a Darfur-Darfur Dialogue and Consultation to secure the support of the people of Darfur to the agreement. We fully support this initiative.
Our embassy in Khartoum meets regularly with representatives of Northern and Southern opposition parties and rebel movements from Darfur and the East of Chad.
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations she has made to the Sudanese Government on a United Nations peacekeeping force to be deployed in Sudan. [82988]
Mr. McCartney: After extensive international lobbying, the Government of Sudan agreed to allow a UN Technical Assistance Mission to visit Sudan to begin planning for the deployment of a UN force for Darfur. However, they have not yet endorsed the deployment of a UN force for Darfur. We and other international partners will continue to lobby them to do so.
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if she will make a statement on the decision of the African Union to keep troops in Darfur until the end of 2006. [83293]
Mr. McCartney
[holding answer 6 July 2006]: The African Union (AU) has made no such decision. In its Communiqué of 27 June, the AU Peace and Security Council (PSC) "reaffirmed its decisions of 10 March and 15 May 2006 on ending the mandate of the AU Mission in Sudan (AMIS) by 30 September 2006 and on the transition from AMIS to a UN peacekeeping operation". However, the Chairperson of the AU Commission's report of the same date also states that, "in view of the yet inconclusive engagement with the Government of Sudan on the issue of a transition to the UN, and in view of the indications from the UN under the circumstances they will not be able to take over the peace support operations before the end of the year, it was deemed prudent to present the estimates of the financial requirements to cover the period up to 31st December 2006". My noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth
Affairs, Lord Triesman of Tottenham, attended the AU Summit on 1-2 July in Banjul and urged an early hand-over from AMIS to the UN.
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if she will make a statement on militia attacks in Darfur. [83294]
Mr. McCartney [holding answer 6 July 2006]: We condemn any attacks by armed militias or other forces in Darfur. We particularly condemn the recent militia attacks in Hamra al-Shaikh, in Northern Kordofan province, which risk extension of violence beyond the borders of Darfur. We call on those parties to the conflict in Darfur who have not yet signed the Darfur Peace Agreement to do so and on all parties to refrain from violence and to implement the Darfur Peace Agreement urgently and in full.
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of the letter sent by representatives of the Beja community, Sudan to the Secretary-General of the UN seeking humanitarian help. [83295]
Mr. McCartney [holding answer 6 July 2006]: On 9 June, the Beja Congress, a political organisation representing the Beja tribe of Eastern Sudan, sent a letter to Kofi Annan. They highlighted the poor humanitarian situation of the Beja, as recently reported by the International Red Cross. They appealed to Kofi Annan and to the international community to exert pressure on the Government of Sudan to ensure the success of the talks between the Government of Sudan and the Eastern Front.
We welcome the news that these talks will begin in Asmara on 17 July. We call on all sides to negotiate in good faith towards a rapid and successful conclusion. We hope this will lead to a comprehensive and lasting peace opening the way to investment and development in the region.
The UK, through the Department for International Development, bilaterally supports a humanitarian programme in the East of Sudan delivered by the Association of Charitable Foundations and Oxfam. We continue to press the Government of Sudan to allow full and unimpeded humanitarian access in the East of the country.
Mr. Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if she will make a statement on the progress of the International Criminal Court investigations on Darfur. [80348]
Margaret Beckett: The International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor, Luis Moreno Ocampo, gave his latest report to the UN Security Council on 14 June, pursuant to UN Security Council Resolution 1593, which referred the situation in Darfur to the ICC. The report set out evidence of large-scale massacres, targeting of civilians and systematic rape occurring in Darfur. It also said the ICC would now move to complete its investigations of those individuals with greatest responsibility for the most serious crimes in Darfur. A full copy of this report is on the ICC website at:http://www.icc-cpi.int/cases/Darfur/s()205/s0205_ un.html.
There must be no impunity for those who have committed abuses of human rights in Darfur. Those responsible must be brought to justice. The UK Government will continue to support the ICC as it takes forward its investigation and to maintain pressure on all parties, including the Government of Sudan, to provide full co-operation in response to any ICC request.
Mr. Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the (a) role and (b) objectives of the UK will be in the forthcoming donors conference for UN peacekeeping in Darfur. [81739]
Margaret Beckett: The African Union (AU) are planning a donors' conference on 18 July in Brussels. This is an opportunity for donors to pledge further support to the AU Mission in Darfur and for the transition to a UN peacekeeping operation. The UK will be represented at the conference. We will pledge £20 million to the AU Mission in Sudan for this financial year, bringing our total assistance since its inception to over £52 million. We are also encouraging the AU and other participants to use the conference to address how the AU and the international community can help take forward the Darfur Peace Agreement.
Terrorist Attack (Bali)
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what funds the Government have made available for a memorial service to commemorate those killed in the 2002 terrorist attacks in Bali. [83210]
Dr. Howells: The Government arranged a service of remembrance for those killed or injured in the Bali bombings on 12 February 2003 in Southwark Cathedral, at a cost of £35,962.09.
The Government are contributing £260,000, plus £44,000 VAT, to the London Memorial project in memory of the victims of the 2002 bombings in Bali.
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what warnings the Government made available to British citizens in Bali immediately prior to the bombings of 12 October 2002; what criteria were used to assess the risk; what level of risk was deemed appropriate on 3 October 2002; and what information was available from the British Embassy in Jakarta. [83289]
Mr. McCartney: The question of travel advice for Indonesia at the time of the Bali bombings and the information upon which it was based was fully covered in the Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) report published in December 2002 and the Government response in February 2003. Both the ISC report and the Government response can be found on the Cabinet Office website at: http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/publications/reprots/intelligence/CM5724.pdf and http://cabinetoffice.gov.uk/publications/reports/intelligence/govresbali.pdf, respectively.
Zimbabwe
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which EU countries have indicated support for trade sanctions against Zimbabwe. [84220]
Mr. McCartney: The EU common position against Zimbabwe consists of a travel ban and assets freeze against 126 members of the Mugabe regime. There are no trade sanctions, as these would hurt innocent Zimbabweans who are already suffering. Nor are we aware of any EU partners supporting the case for trade sanctions.
Duchy of Lancaster
Departmental Publications
Mr. Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if she will list in date order (a) Green and (b) White Papers produced by her Department since October 2005. [81254]
Edward Miliband: For the purposes of answering this Question, I have assumed that the hon. Member is referring to Command Papers. Command Papers published since October 2005 are shown in the following table:
Ministerial Responsibilities
Mr. Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster why the List of Ministerial Responsibilities is no longer available in (a) PDF and (b) Word editions on her Department's website; who she consulted before making this change; and if she will make a statement. [83429]
Hilary Armstrong: In addition to the web-based version of the List of Ministerial Responsibilities which has a search facility, Word and PDF versions can now be accessed from the website. Hard copies are available in the Library for the reference of Members and are also available in the Vote Office.
Official Visits
David Simpson: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on how many occasions (a) she and (b) her predecessor visited each region in an official capacity in the last 12 months. [83912]
Hilary Armstrong: In the past 12 months my predecessor and I have made the following number of visits to the following regions:
| Region | Number of visits |
Communities and Local Government
Advertising Campaigns
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what advertising campaigns her Department and its predecessors have run since July 2004; and what the (a) date and (b) cost was of each. [81921]
Angela E. Smith: In the financial year 2004-05 the advertising campaigns run by the then Office of the Deputy Prime Minister were as follows:
Fire Safety—An advertising campaign to reduce the number of deaths and serious injuries caused by domestic fires.
(a) September and February
(b) £4.4 million
The Elected Regional Assemblies campaign to set out the case for Elected Regional Assemblies in the Northeast
(a) July/August
(b) £1.5 million
In the financial year 2005-06 the advertising campaigns run by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister were as follows:
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